The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1887-02-03
NEW SERIES. VOL. XXII.-NO. a.
[Reprinted nom FloRIprAN Of 1885.
A Money Crsp. -
ARTICLE Nv.

n money CrOR
ARTICLE Nv. e.
Have three or four or more hurdles (accordng
to the quantity you have 10 i,andie) ior hanging
| your tobacco in the field. For. making thdm
lake twenty foot board, cut 10 Two in he mid.
die, nail on two uprights twenty one inches each;
frnm the centre f0ur icet long Ot twWby three, or
three by three scsnling. Mil brace from each
of these to the end az the ten foot board Make
another The same Now take twn'boards 10 feet
each Ike, nail on the inside, vi the top end III the
uprights about three feet from the ends Of your
boards, then nail bruce from near the b,ttm Of
each upright TO the boards towards the centte
and you have one complete, after which of course
you can make Others For stringine your To-
bacco the best thing is laih, or INCH and ix4
feet. To hold the lalh we use what Is called u
spearing buck, which tO make take u 2x4 scsant-
ling feet long, setting j, up c.lgewise. Nail
about inches from the end two legs, bractng
ii for a saw bench Now turning il right side up
with the legless end ON the ground, take your
saw and chise and make sfot or noltisc in the
end having the legs Make i. six inches long
and of the size 10 admit the end of your hath
readily. Havingit chiseled out, nail a piece OF
board about five inches wide over the Top Of il
end an inch long for The purpose Ut getting Out
| a piece of hath should You break one in the NOR
tise. Then take four strips board. about fifteen
inches in length, and nail on the lower adjoin
ing side Of the legs as annther minatare pair legs
excepting let them stick up instead of down.
Now about three feet from this pair nail another
pair and across the lower side of the lower pair
nail a board about one foot wide, which makes a
rack for holding lath. 1t is now complete. An
apparent long operation, but can be made iD one
to two hours. In cutting your tobacco lay it
with two rows side by side, butts to same direc-
ton. In spearing take yourspearing buck at the
end of the rows with the tobacco bottom ends
facing you Place a bundle OF lath in the rack
ON the back to have them convenient, then stick
ing the end of one in the mor,ise place your spear
on the other end and you are ready for the ,Obac-
CO. With an active boy to hand TO you, who will
pick them up by the bottom end aud hold near
the spear, an ordinarily smart man can string as
fast as the boy can hand Soon as the bath is full
the strnger takes off the spear and places
other lath. The boy hangs the full lath on the
hurdle, which have near AT hand. The number
of stalks to the lath you will regulate by the size
OF your tobacco. man and boy should string
at the rate Of an acre per day. 'i
have never had any tobacco sun burn in
hanging on The hurdles, vet il il well TO watch
il c.Osely in this climate; YET there ia little
danger as the suns rays strike il vertically.
We leave it hanging upon the hurdle until wilted
that the leaf is pliable or i'm condition that il
it strikes anything in handling will not break or
tear when it is in shape to haul to your shed.
Ii intending to do anything worth while at
the business, to handle expeditionsly and che ap-
ly, you will have your shed or Building so rig
ged that you can drive in at one end and out at
the other then you can pass it directly from the
wagon to hands overhead, preventing the la
billy Of tearing and bruising by carrying into
the building by narrow doors, DC, saying moth
ing about their trailing it the ground, as
they are almost sure To do, thereby bruisins and
tearing the tips spelling il for wrappers To
baccO from the time it is strung on the laih
should never touch the ground again nor should
it be laid down until in condition to take off the
poles.
For the purpose of hauling into the shed you
will need upon your wagon IL frame made nearly
similar to the hurdles, excepting needing two
string pieces for the foundation frame In haul.
ing you of course hang your tobacco in the
frame same as in the hurdle. Shove the aths
up snugly and you can haul it over any ordinary
road or ground fl to drive without its falling off
Your shed proper should lie eighteen feet high
at the caves. giving you room for four and one
half courses Tor series of tiers) of tobacco. Re-,
/ guate the width OF your building according to
the size demanded, making two or four drive
ways, as the case may be. In building do no
framing; being on the balloon order-cheap
but strong If parties desire it will give through
the FLORIDrAN specifications which can be
adapted to their individual requirements
| Your tobacco being in the shed your principal
troubles over, but what is To follow is inst as
particular if not more So. To cure your tObacco
scientifically and f1rst-ciass you will need four
IoWe vi VcuuildiD1o OH CtC1 Slde1ue UullulnS one
foot wide arranged to strike hetween the courses.
II your crop is curing too fast you will close your
ventllators during the day and open them nights,
admitting cool moist air and keeping out dry
and hot air. The slower you can cure your crop
| the more valuable, as it will contain more gum,
| be darker color and more pliable 1t will also
| improve it to keep the light from it, The only
| danger in slow curing is the liability OF mould
| ing it in damp weather, which if there is not
current enough of air in the atmosphere to carry
| off by opening the ventillatOrs you will have to
remedy by building small fires throughout your
shed, but in doing so be sure and have dry oak
wood. Pine Injuries the flavor, while scented
woods as cedar, bay, &c, being of fine aroma,
improve it. Oak is best as it throws more heat
for amount of smoke emitted. If the weather is
damp do not permit day to go by without in
specting for mould. The lower tiers near the
ground will be very apt to mould first drawing
dampness from the ground. Mould generally
commences in the stem of the leaf and will if al
allowed to proceed injure the texture, though
there is no apparent mould over the body.
When you detect it moulding do not delay your
fires, as II proceeds rapidly. You will watch it
through IFS successive stages and will probably
think 1t cured long before il is; but it is not
thoroughly cured until all moisture is evaporated
from the stem OF the leaf. In other words until
the stem is dry. The stem being dry you must
now take it down the first opportunity that oc-
ours; which will be when damp enough to
handle without cracking or breaking when told
ed or crumpled in the hand. When in this con-
dtion we call it in case Little dampness being
low case" and very damp. high case"
Neoer handle unless in case
G. HoUGHToN
TALLAHASSEE, Feb. 10, 1885,